In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex

Nat Philbrick

Penguin Group USA, 2000 - History - 302 pages

The ordeal of the whaleship Essex was an event as mythic in the nineteenth century as the sinking of the Titanic was in the twentieth. In 1819, the Essex left Nantucket for the South Pacific with twenty crew members aboard. In the middle of the South Pacific the ship was rammed and sunk by an angry sperm whale. The crew drifted for more than ninety days in three tiny whaleboats, succumbing to weather, hunger, disease, and ultimately turning to drastic measures in the fight for survival. Nathaniel Philbrick uses little-known documents-including a long-lost account written by the ship's cabin boy-and penetrating details about whaling and the Nantucket community to reveal the chilling events surrounding this epic maritime disaster. An intense and mesmerizing read, In the Heart of the Sea is a monumental work of history forever placing the Essex tragedy in the American historical canon.

What people are saying

Review: In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex

User Review  - Kathryn - Goodreads

Gripping, terrifying and at times appalling true story that inspired Moby Dick.

Review: In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex

User Review  - Patricia L - Goodreads

A must read for anyone interested in the life of a American whaling communities which by necessity were dominated by women. Whether describing life at home or sea, life was hard. The author offers much for both male and female genders and for readers of many ages.

About the author

Nathaniel Philbrick, is a leading authority on the history of Nantucket Island. His In the Heart of the Sea won the National Book Award. His latest book is Sea of Glory, about the epic U.S. Exploring Expedition of 1838–1842. His other books include Away off Shore: Nantucket Island and Its People, 1602-1890 (which Russell Baker called "indispensable") and Abram's Eyes: The Native American Legend of Nantucket Island ("a classic of historical truthtelling," according to Stuart Frank, director of the Kendall Whaling Museum). He has written an introduction to a new edition of Joseph Hart's Miriam Coffin, or The Whale Fisherman, a Nantucket novel (first published in 1834) that Melville relied upon for information about the island when writing Moby Dick.

Philbrick, a champion sailboat racer, has also written extensively about sailing, including The Passionate Sailor (1987) and the forthcoming Second Wind: A Sunfish Sailor's Odyssey. He was editor in chief of the classic Yaahting: A Parody (1984).

In his role as director of the Egan Institute of Maritime Studies, Philbrick, who is also a research fellow at the Nantucket Historical Association, gives frequent talks about Nantucket and sailing. He has appeared on "NBC Today Weekend", A&E's "Biography" series, and National Public Radio and has served as a consultant for the movie "Moby Dick", shown on the USA Network. He received a bachelor of Arts from Brown University and a Master of Arts in American Literature from Duke. He lives on Natucket with his wife and two children.

Bibliographic information

• Title: In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex
• Author: Nat Philbrick
• Edition: illustrated, reprint, reissue
• Publisher: Penguin Group USA, 2000
• ISBN: 0141001828, 9780141001821
• Length: 302 pages
• Subjects: History / Latin America / Mexico; History / United States / 19th Century; Transportation / Navigation; Transportation / Ships & Shipbuilding / General; Transportation / Ships & Shipbuilding / History